A lot of the clients I work with as an SEO consultant don’t really care about the content that goes on their site. That’s great news for other companies that like to take short-cuts, but I take a lot of pride in my work. I loathe bad content; particularly when it’s created by people that should know better.

When I see some of the content that consultants, project managers and even the client has okayed, I feel physically nauseous.

Here’s the thing, whether I’m working on local Wigan SEO or a more national / international campaign, I love writing. I love the written word – I love the power it has and the endless opportunities the blank page presents.

Even when I’m working on an inarguably dull topic – like my 30th or 40th local drainage landing page that week – I can’t bring myself to send a sub-standard piece of copy.

It sounds like I’m blowing my own horn here but let me clarify by saying I am in no way perfect. I make mistakes like everybody else, but the difference is I go back, and I correct those mistakes.

Once my content is live on-site, I’ll read through, fix any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or even issues with the layout.

 

SEO Vs Great Content

 

Sometimes, however, due to the demands of modern SEO and Google’s ever-changing definition of what it thinks “good” content is, most of the time I don’t have a choice in the matter. I’ll hold my hand up and say that, in the past, I have had to send off content I wouldn’t read, and I wouldn’t encourage anyone to read, but which ranks incredibly well.

It’s easy to say that Google search results value good content. In my experience, that isn’t really true. Google doesn’t value good content, whatever white-hat SEO might tell you – it still values optimised content.

There are still sites where repeated mentions of the exact keyword, rather than a few natural mentions and a diverse range of synonyms, rank significantly higher. There are a few sites that I come across on a fairly regular basis, which are made entirely out of spun content, with only the main keyword changing.

While these sites rank well, I would hope that the trade-off is a high bounce rate, low engagement and few or no conversions.

However, my experience tells me that a large percentage of users don’t really care. Particularly if they looking for a quick service, like emergency drainage (can you tell I work with a lot of drainage clients?), it doesn’t really matter to them what’s on the page.

Of course, that’s where good web design comes in. You can have all the content in the world under the fold, but a strong, visual header with a contact form and phone number can, sometimes, be enough. Anyway, that’s a post for another time.

An issue that a lot of copywriters have, however, is that they still believe that there’s no such thing as good, optimised content.

That belief, in the modern landscape, can kill any content marketing or SEO campaign before it even starts.

 

 

Creating Great SEO Content is Hard

 

A lot of people, particularly clients, seem to think that creating optimised content is easy.

They’re wrong.

Admittedly, some keywords and phrases are easier to work with than others. A grammatically correct keyword, for example, is one of the unsung gifts to any SEO content creator.

I’ve lost count of the hours I’ve spent wrestling to get a grammatically incorrect keyword to fit into even the most well-crafted of sentences.

Still, the fact remains that Google prefers optimised content. Content which I would say still reads as relatively spammy ranks well. For example, there’s no way I’d write blocked drains in Manchester as many times as I have had to in non-optimised content.

There are some features of content marketing optimised for search engines like Google that you just can’t away from. Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying to you – playing on an ideal world, rather than the practical application of content in today’s search engine-driven marketplace.

So, with that all of the above in mind, and accepting that it is possible to create SEO content without sacrificing quality, I’d like to point out a few brief guidelines that every copywriter should, at least, be aware of!

Following them is completely up to you, but so long as they’re in your head while you’re creating SEO content, you’ll need to justify any decision which deviates from these guidelines. Putting a little extra thought into your content is never a bad thing, even if – like me – sometimes you end up having to write 30 or 40 unique variations of the same content.

 

 

4 Guidelines on Creating SEO Content Without Compromising on Quality

 

Whether you’re an experienced SEO content writer, or you’re just taking your first steps into the evolving, maddening, fascinating world of SEO content, these guidelines are a great way of refreshing your approach or putting you on the right path to a career of high-quality content without neglecting optimisation.

 

 

1 – Research, Research, Research

Great research is the backbone of any great content.

It’s never just a matter of sitting down and hammering out a few thousand words. Whatever subject you’re writing about, from medical to technical or marketing content, you need to sound like an authority.

Copywriters, including agency copywriters and freelancers, need to be able to sound like an authority on any subject.

The ability to take in information and replicate in a unique, easily-understandable and authoritative manner is one of the SEO writer’s most essential abilities.

This isn’t an ability that anyone’s born with – the only way to become a real research master is to do it.

Every industry you’re asked to work in.

Research.

Every client that needs content.

Research.

Hey, at the very least, you’ll end up absolutely amazing at general knowledge. There’s a reason I’m pretty good a pub quizzes.

 

 

2 – Keep Sentences Short & Snappy

A mistake a lot of SEOs make, particularly if they aren’t naturally great writers or if they don’t feel passionate about their content, is to try and overdo it.

There’s nothing wrong with writing short, simple sentences, particularly for SEO. These sentences are usually easier to read, which Google is said to like, and are more likely to be cleanly understood by a larger percentage of your audience.

Don’t ever try to make your content more complex than it needs to be. Unless you’re writing for a client who wants a lot of technical language, or your KW/synonyms are fairly technical, there’s never anything wrong with writing in simple English.

It’s better to be grammatically correct and relatively simple in form than it is to sound like a complex writer and be wrong.

Simple, short sentences can still be high-quality.

In a lot of cases, they can even result in an overall higher quality piece of content, even if each sentence itself isn’t of the highest quality.

Keep sentences short and, for all that’s good in the world, don’t write entirely in passive voice.

 

 

3 – Fit Your Keywords & Phrases in As Naturally as Possible

If you can’t fit your keyword into a sentence naturally, you have three options:

• Hammer Your KW or Phrase in Anyway.
• Ignore the KW and Write What You Damn Well Want.
• Rewrite the Sentence.

Now, obviously, there have been times when a piece of content has been frustrating me, or the client’s making demands which aren’t in their best interests.

In those moments, I want nothing more than to sacrifice SEO for quality, or quality for SEO. It’d be so much easier than trying to get two concepts which are, in most cases, fundamentally opposed, to get along.

Still, the best thing to do is rewrite the sentence.

Words are such phenomenal things. They can be altered, adapted, and repurposed; moulded to fit any purpose, any tone and any audience.

If anyone ever tells you that it’s impossible to say something, or to convey a feeling in just a sentence or two, start running.

There’s no excuse for putting even the most obnoxious of keywords in a way which isn’t grammatically correct or natural. If you’re struggling to fit a keyword or phrase in naturally, it isn’t the KW’s fault – it’s the sentence.

Go back to the start and take your time. Type the keyword or phrase out and build around it.

This only becomes a problem when you’re dealing with a ridiculously specific, long-tail keyword. But, even then, there are other ways of optimising for long-tail keywords apart from keyword density.

 

 

4 – Get Your Keyword Density Right!

That may be oversimplifying the matter a little.

There isn’t really a right keyword density to target. I know that’s a little bit of a cop-out, but it’s true.

Ideally, I start off by aiming for a 3% keyword density on most pieces of content.

Fortunately, the way I write naturally tends to end up with the keyword or phrase being around that mark anyway.

This is where being able to edit and adapt content once it is on-site is essential. It is possible, but rare, that your content will be enough to rank highly as soon as it is published.

If you’re able to adapt and edit your content after-the-fact, you can reduce or improve the number of specific keyword mentions on the site.

You’re also able to add more synonyms or target related terms to allow your page to rank highly for multiple terms.

3% is a great number to aim for when it comes to SEO. With enough practice, you’ll be able to include KWs to this percentage in a way that feels natural when reading the content.

One of the most valuable tools I find when it comes to making sure my keywords are present in my content is SEO Book’s Keyword Density Analyser.

A lot of people roll their eyes when you talk about keyword densities today, like we should have moved beyond it by now. In a way, they are right. As writers, as content creators and SEOs, we should be beyond KW densities by now.

However, Google and other search engines still rely on keywords and, as such, getting the balance between completely natural, unoptimised and unnatural, spammy content is essential if you want to rank in SERPs, without sacrificing on great content.

 

Don’t Sacrifice SEO for Great Content – Or Great Content for SEO!

 

As my passion is copywriting, I’d love to tell you to throw SEO out the window in the search for great content.

However, we live in a world where getting your content seen is often as hard as creating the content itself.

You can’t afford to ignore search engine optimisation and, to create the best and most successful kinds of content, you need to consider SEO from the start.

By following the four simple guidelines above, you’ll be able to maintain high-quality content that gets views, earns conversions, and delivers real benefits to your business or your employers.

For more information on our dedicated SEO services, combined with industry-leading content writing services, don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Here at Just Internet Solutions, we can provide a diverse range of leading services to suit your digital marketing needs.